Android to include carrier billing

Google has revealed a series of changes to the Android Market Developer Distribution Agreement, which involve the future introduction of payment options for the Android market, reports Softpedia.

According to the company, the upcoming changes should include carrier billing, and are expected to be welcomed by all Android developers.

Currently, T-Mobile US is the only wireless carrier that offers its users the possibility to have their Android market purchases included in their monthly carrier bill. Other Android mobile phone owners need to use Google's Checkout service when purchasing applications from the software portal.

The Nigerian minister of state for finance, Remi Babalola, has called for the commissioning of a card personalisation business, established by Electronic Payplus in Lagos, states The Guardian.

“Given the level of our infrastructural development in this part of the world, it is important to correctly situate the role of payment system in the development of the financial services industry,” he says.

According to Babalola, electronic payments provide greater freedom to individuals in paying their taxes, fines and purchases at unconventional locations.

Mobile payment solution provider Mopay has released Mopay Call, which lets online merchants bill purchases directly to consumers' landline phone accounts, says TMCnet.

The Mopay call payment process does not require any registration and is available to consumers who have access to a landline phone.

Kolja Reiss, MD of Mopay, says: "Today, Mopay sets the pace in the mobile payments industry and provides a global billing system tailored to meet the needs of online merchants.”